khalti خالتي
Moroccan Darija · noun
“khalti” (خالتي) is a noun in Moroccan Darija meaning my maternal aunt.
Meanings
- my maternal aunt
- auntie (to an older woman)
Usage
Khalti is khala, the mother's sister, followed by the possessive -i. The paternal aunt is 3emmti, and darija always distinguishes the two. The word is also used to address an older woman with respect and affection, even with no family tie, for example a neighbor or a saleswoman: "a khalti". "Weld khalti" and "bent khalti" designate the male and female cousin on the mother's side. English has no precise word for this relationship.
Example
ربي يخليك أ خالتي
rbi ykhlik a khalti
“May God keep you, auntie.”
How to write it in Latin letters
In Arabizi, Darija written in Latin letters, you will find “khalti” but also “5alti”, “khalty” and “5alty”. No spelling is official: people write the sounds as they hear them.
Digits stand in for Arabic letters that have no Latin equivalent: 5 is kha (خ), like the ch in Scottish loch.
Type “khalti” on the Arabic keyboard
In Algerian Darja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Algerian Darja, where it means “my maternal aunt”; “ma'am (respectful address to an older woman)”: khalti in Algerian.
In Tunisian Derja
Spelt the same way in Arabic, the word also exists in Tunisian Derja, where it means “my maternal aunt”; “ma'am (to an older woman)”: khalti in Tunisian.